My inspiration for this record of my days:

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less” -Anna Quindlen

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Last month my sister Kathy planned a fabulous sisters trip for us. We went to San Diego and stayed at Capri by the Sea- the place we went for many consecutive summers as teenagers. It is literally right on the beach, and we kept the window open to enjoy the cool breeze and sound of the waves.

We were pretty happy to be together!

We have some pretty dedicated healthy eaters amongst us, so the food was mostly high quality, fancy, organic and delicious! (This picture was the one exception to that.) Honestly, my favorite part of get-aways without kids is the break from food preparation.

We decided for old time's sake that it was important that we go boogie boarding. The water was freezing, but by golly, we played in it! We didn't last nearly as long as we used to, and it may have been more trouble than it was worth, but we've still got it! We can ride waves just as well as any of our kids!

Feeling proud:

And maybe just a little worn out:

On Sunday we sang in Kathy's ward before we headed home. I sure do love those sisters and mom of mine! There is something about being with siblings that brings out the most relaxed, silly side of us all. But we also had some moments where we talked about really meaningful spiritual things. I love those women, and draw strength from each of their strengths.

Best of all, I came home feeling rejuvenated and even more grateful for my own family. Thanks for the great time, sisters! Let's do it again next year!!

Friday, September 16, 2016

I've just returned from raking the sandbox in the park. Last night I took the little boys to the park to celebrate the "beautiful wedder" (weather, as per Eli.) Eli had gotten a little plastic "poison dart frog" from preschool, and he really wanted to play with it at the park. I knew (having been through similar scenarios MANY times before) that the frog would get lost forever in the sand, but Eli would not believe me. He insisted he would be able to see it just fine. So he climbed to the top of the play structure and threw the frog into the sand for a "body slam." (I seem to use quotation marks a lot when talking about Eli, don't I?)

Of course, no matter how hard we all looked, the frog was gone. I promised we could return when it was light to try again. So the first question he asked when he stumbled out of bed this morning was "Can we go right now to look for my frog?" We took a rake back to the park. We found a lot of cat poop, but alas, no frog.

Last night around midnight, Simon came stumbling into my room, really upset by a nightmare. He said he felt too insecure to go back to his own room. I made a cozy bed for him on the floor next to my bed, and he fell right back to sleep. Much faster than I did.

My alarm went off at 5:30 this morning. I had to get up extra early to allow time to change the gauze on Caleb's back. He was riding (standing up) on an old mattress, being pulled by a friend driving a car around the dirt lot behind us. Was there any question how that would end??? But the poor guy can hardly move now, and he needed his bandages changed in time to get to school. So I was up at 5:30.

This is after 3 days of healing

So I am feeling a little tired today, but mostly really blessed. What a privilege it is to be a mother! I am so grateful that I get to be the one to be here, in the moments that are so important to these sweet children. I wouldn't trade that privilege for anything in the world.